Bombay HC allows woman to abort 23-week-old foetus on grounds of 'Domestic Violence'

The Bombay High Court has granted a woman's request to abort her healthy 23-week-old foetus, stating that domestic abuse has an impact on a woman's mental health and that this can be a valid reason for medically ending her pregnancy. On August 3, a bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Madhav Jamdar handed down their decision, which was made public on Tuesday, August 17.

Bombay HC permits pregnancy termination

In its order, the HC also mentioned women's reproductive rights, as defined by the WHO. A panel of experts at the state-run J J Hospital in Mumbai examined the 22-year-old woman, who was a victim of domestic violence. While her unborn was healthy and had no abnormalities, the panel determined that the lady had experienced significant mental stress and that continuing the pregnancy would exacerbate that trauma. 

The woman told the HC in her petition that she and her husband were getting divorced and that she did not want to keep the pregnancy going. The present Medical Termination of Pregnancy (MTP) Act prohibits terminating a pregnancy after 20 weeks unless the foetus and the mother are in danger.

In the present case, the HC said, "If contraception failure leading to pregnancy can be presumed to constitute grave injury to the mental health of the pregnant woman, can it be said that a pregnant woman suffering from domestic violence would not face grave injury to her mental health if pregnancy is allowed to continue in the face of continuing domestic violence with a grim foreseeable future?" 

HC allows woman to abort 23-week-old foetus

Referring to the reproductive rights of women as envisaged by the World Health Organisation (WHO), the bench said, "The core issue is the control a woman has or exercises over her own body and reproductive choice. Control over reproduction is a basic need and a basic right of all women. Linked as it is to women's health and social status, it is from the perspective of poor women or women of rural areas that this right can be best understood." 

The HC remarked, "Rape is an instance of extreme violence committee on a woman. Domestic violence is also a violence committee on a woman, though the degree might be lesser." It was observed that in her plea, the petitioner stated that if the child was born, she would not receive the necessary financial and emotional support from her husband.

The high court noted, "In such circumstances, we are of the view that declining permission to the petitioner will tantamount to compelling her to continue with her pregnancy, which in the circumstances will not only become extremely burdensome and oppressive on her but has the potential to cause grave injury to her mental health." The petitioner woman was allowed to have her pregnancy terminated at the Cooper Hospital in Mumbai by the court.

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